About Black River

The farm is run with help from an excellent seasonal staff that lives and works on the farm. During the height of the harvest, additional seasonal help comes in to harvest crops every week. Fresh produce is packed and shipped with care and speed to deliver delicious products from the field to your table at their peak of flavor and freshness.

For over fifteen years, Black River has been committed to producing the best organically grown vegetables in the area. Each season, a selection of traditional and heirloom vegetables is grown on this 16 acre certified organic farm using carefully selected varieties and timetested growing methods to provide you with the highest quality and greatest taste. Vegetables are available at several regional farmers markets, are sold wholesale to restaurants and organic produce distributors, and are distributed through the CSA program.

Joining a CSA is one of the best ways to feed your passion for healthy, delicious, nutritious foods, and support local farmers and sustainable agriculture at the same time!

Black River Organic Farm is certified as an organic grower under the USDA. This means that we use specific growing methods and materials that minimize impacts to the environment and maximize our stewardship of the land and water.

We use only approved organic fertilizers and organic pesticides. We build our soil with natural compost and we never treat our seeds, plants, or harvested produce with any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides.

We farm because we love the natural world. We see it as our job to take care of the world in ways that will ensure a sustainable future.

What Is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

CSA is a commitment between a farm and a community of consumers. By purchasing a share of the season’s harvest, CSA members support the farm throughout the season, and assume the costs, risks and bounty of growing food along with the farmer or grower. In return, the farm provides a healthy supply of seasonal fresh produce throughout the growing season.

This mutually supportive relationship between local growers and community members helps create an economically stable farm operation in which members are assured the highest quality produce at excellent prices. And farmers are guaranteed a reliable market for a diverse selection of crops.

How does CSA work?

The farmer or grower draws up a budget reflecting the production costs for the year, including labor and distribution costs, investments for seeds and tools, and machinery and land maintenance costs. A portion of the budget is then provided for by the sale of shares of the harvest. One share is usually designed to provide the weekly vegetable needs for a family of four and may range in price from $200 to $600, depending on available products.

Community members sign up and purchase their shares, either in a lump sum in early spring, or in several installments throughout the growing season. Production expenses are thereby guaranteed and the farmer or grower starts receiving income as soon as work begins.

In return for their investment, CSA members receive a box of fresh, locally grown, typically organic produce once a week throughout the season. Typically, a wide variety of vegetables and herbs is grown, encouraging integrated cropping and companion planting, which reduces risk factors and gives multiple benefits to the soil. Crops are often planted in succession in order to provide a continuous weekly supply of mixed vegetables. As crops rotate throughout the season, weekly shares vary by size and types of produce, reflecting local growing seasons and conditions.

CSA provide a direct marketing distribution system. Advantages to the direct marketing approach of CSA include minimal loss and waste of harvested farm produce, little or reduced need for longterm storage, and a willingness by members to accept produce with natural cosmetic imperfections.